the span, Hopkinton offered the bridge to the State of New Hampshire. Governor Judd Gregg and the executive council accepted the gift in 1990. Under state law, the Division of Historical Resources becomes administratively responsible for any historic covered bridge that is donated to the state by a municipality. Without a capital budget, DHR has depended almost entirely on the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges for financial help in maintaining the bridge. DHR has also partnered with the Contoocook Riverway Association, which owns the nearby Contoocook Railroad Depot (1850). Together, the Association and DHR have won a Transportation Enhancement grant for restoration of the bridge and the railroad station. Once the bridge is securely underpinned, DHR will combine Transportation Enhancement grant funds and Conservation License Plate ("Moose Plate") revenues to install a fire sprinkler system in the bridge, paint the exterior using an authentic Boston and Maine Railroad paint formula, and install interpretive signage and interior security lighting. – James L. Garvin, State Architectural Historian, Sept. 2003 In 2006 the bridge saw minor structural repairs to its bottom chord at the upstream north corner, the bolsters were replaced for the first time since the hurricane of 1938, and the bed timbers were replaced by granite pedestals. The work was paid for by a donation from the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. The bridge underwent slight alterations being completed mid-winter 2009-2010 which consisted of a dry-head, open pipe sprinkler system for the bridge interior with exterior fire department connection, including linear heat detectors, fire alarm system, fire retardant coating and LED motion sensor lighting inside the bridge at an approximate cost of $123,300 paid for and engineered by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation. In April 2019, bridge work to stain the bridge and make minor repairs took place. The project was funded by the state's "Moose Plate" grant program. Volunteers from the town's 250th anniversary committee as well as the Contoocook Riverway Association had dedicated time and efforts to see the project through. Gallery See also List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in New Hampshire List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire National Register of Historic Places listings in Merrimack County, New Hampshire New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 195: Contoocook Railroad Bridge and Depot References External links Covered bridges on the National Register of